Patriots Want Employees Accused of Deflating Footballs Reinstated

The New England Patriots have asked the N.F.L. to reinstate the suspended employees at the heart of the ball-deflation scandal.

An N.F.L. spokesman, Brian McCarthy, said Wednesday that the request was under review.

The team suspended an equipment assistant, John Jastremski, and a locker room attendant, Jim McNally, as part of the investigation into whether the footballs the team provided for the A.F.C. title game were improperly inflated. In one of the more damning texts uncovered in the probe, McNally referred to himself as “the deflator.”

The team was fined $1 million and docked two draft picks as punishment. Quarterback Tom Brady had his four-game suspension vacated by a federal judge. The team has denied any wrongdoing, but it suspended McNally and Jastremski.

The N.F.L. said the two could not be reinstated without permission from the league.